League lead: Atalanta wins Milan thriller

Atalanta Bergamo celebrated a late win in a thrilling duel against AC Milan on Friday evening to take the lead in the league table, while Inter had previously defeated Parma.

06 December 2024

From: do

On Friday evening, Atalanta and Milan met at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo in a thrilling duel in Serie A. Both teams played an offensive style from the start, which gave the fans an entertaining evening of football. In the end, the home team took the coveted three points with a 2-1 victory.

The first excitement didn't take long to arrive: Álvaro Morata scored for Milan in the 6th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Just six minutes later, Atalanta struck: Charles De Ketelaere put the hosts in the lead with a precise header after a cross from the left. But Milan were unimpressed. In the 22nd minute, Morata finally managed to score a regular goal when he safely put a perfect cross from Rafael Leão into the net.

Alvaro Morata scored the equalizer. © ANSA / MICHELE MARAVIGLIA

The game remained intense in the second half, with both teams looking for the winning goal. When the game seemed to be heading for a draw, Atalanta had the last word: In the 87th minute, Ademola Lookman headed the ball into the goal after a corner from Sead Kolašinac to make it 2-1.

With this success and the lead in the table, Atalanta crowned their ultimately strong run, while Milan dropped valuable points in the battle for the top four.

Inter puts pressure on the leaders

Milan's city rivals Inter celebrated a confident 3-1 victory against Parma at their home stadium San Siro on the same evening. Federico Dimarco started things off by scoring the hosts' lead with a beautiful goal from a tight angle in the 40th minute. After half-time, Nicolò Barella added another in the 53rd minute. A precise pass from midfield put him in a good position, which he coolly used to make it 2-0. In the 66th minute, Marcus Thuram put the finishing touches on Inter's game: he volleyed the ball after a corner and increased the lead to 3-0.

Marcus Thuram (front) and Lautaro Martinez (back) each scored one goal. © APA/afp / PIERO CRUCIATTI

Parma was at least able to score a consolation goal when Matteo Darmian unluckily scored an own goal in the 81st minute. Despite the goal, Inter did not let anything go wrong and earned three well-deserved points. Inter remain in the race for the top of the table and are breathing down the necks of the new league leaders Atalanta.

The results

Inter – Parma 3:1
Goals: 1:0 Dimarco (40th), 2:0 Barella (53rd), 3:0 Thuram, 3.1 Darmian (81st)

Atalanta – Milan 2-1
Goals: 1:0 De Ketelaere (12th), 1:1 MOrata (22nd), 2:1 Lookman (87th)